The News Without Comment

Vice chair of Trump’s voter fraud commission wants to change federal law to make it harder to vote, email shows

In November of 2016, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) was photographed holding a document containing the words "Draft Amendments to the National Voter…" An email released as part of a federal court case outlines what at least one of those amendments might be. (Reuters/Mike Segar)

The day after Donald Trump was elected president, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, now the vice-chair of Donald Trump’s commission on voter fraud, told Trump’s transition team of a proposal to change federal law to allow stricter requirements on voter registration.

Kobach’s team was "putting together information on legislation drafts for submission to Congress early in the administration," Kobach wrote to transition team member Gene Hamilton in an email. "I have some already started regarding amendments to the NVRA [National Voter Registration Act] to make clear that proof of citizenship requirements are permitted (based on my ongoing litigation with the ACLU over this)."

Amending the NVRA in such a manner "will lead to a dramatic reduction in access to voting," said Wendy Weiser, director of the democracy program at NYU’s Brennan Center, in an interview. "Every time legal obstacles to restricting the vote have been lifted in recent years, we’ve seen substantial spikes in efforts to restrict the vote."

Passed in 1993, the NVRA contains a number of provisions intended to increase voter participation. Among other provisions, it requires states to allow voter registration at motor vehicle offices and by mail.

The ACLU filed a motion for Kobach to release those documents. Kobach attempted to argue that the documents were not related to the proof of citizenship requirement, but he was subsequently fined $1,000 by the federal court for making false claims about their contents.

Critics of Kobach say the email proves the voter fraud commission is aiming to restrict voting access regardless of any findings it may make. "I think the email is wholly unsurprising," said Justin Levitt, elections expert at Loyola Law School."I won’t be shocked as more proof emerges that the cake is already baked."